He has been edging closer and closer all season but finally, in the last game of the 2023 campaign, Mark Lavelle claimed his 300th SL/SPCL wicket on Saturday when he removed his old adversary Ricky Rawlins.

Mark, who made his 1st XI SPCL bow in 2005 against Rowledge aged just 14 (the youngest Calmore SPCL debutant at the time), become the first to reach the 300 wicket landmark for the club in his 206th game – he now has 302 at just 14.84 each with 15 four-wicket hauls.

THE MILESTONE WICKETS:
1st wicket: Indy Chakrabarti v Hambledon 2006 (c Winters)
50th wicket: D Gough v Sparsholt 2014 (c Matt Taylor)
100th wicket: RM Vinn v Basingstoke & NH 2015 (lbw)
150th wicket: J Christian v Portsmouth 2017 (v Newton)
200th wicket: CJ Russell v Ventnor 2019 (bowled)
250th wicket: H Clarke v Totton & Eling 2021 (bowled)
300th wicket: Ricky Rawlins v Sarisbury Athletic 2023 (lbw)

Rawlins, who Mark has dismissed twice in his 302 player list (2019 at Calmore) opened the bowling on Saturday – something he has only done six times in his career and the first time this season – and snared Rawlins in front without scoring – as it happens, his 50th LBW removal.

The full list of his dismissals are 67 bowled, 136 caught by a fielder, 25 caught behind, 50 LBWs, 23 stumped and one hit-wicket … which also came on Saturday in the Sarisbury game when home side captain Rob Franklin trod on his stumps, just the third to do that against Calmore and the first since Ed Brogan for Burridge in 2004 off James Hibberd.

Congratulations Lav – well on the way to 500!!!